Adjustable connecting means



April 20, 1937. 0 H DICKE 2,077,620

ADJUSTABLE CONNECTING MEANS Filed Aug. 29, 1954 Hls ATTORNEY PatentedApr.- 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE eral Railway Signal N.Y.

Company, Rochester,

Application August 29, 1934, Serial No. 741,952

Claims.

This invention relates to adjustable connecting means, and moreparticularly to a means for securely interconnecting parts of railwaydevices which permits an accurate relative adjustment of the parts.

In interconnecting the movable points of a railway track switch and inmounting various devices on railway vehicles and thelike, mechanicalconnections must be provided which can withstand considerable tensionalforces, and yet such connections must permit one member to be adjustedvery accurately relative to the other at various times to compensate forwear or other changing conditions afiecting the spacing of the members.The relatively movable members of such adjustable connections must thenbe provided with some gripping means such as inter fitting teeth, or thelike, in order to prevent slipping when subjected to large tensionalforces, and inasmuch as these interfitting teeth necessarily graduatethe increments of adjustment, a very accurate adjustment can only bepermitted by very fine and closely spaced teeth which then become soweak that they are ineffective to resist large tensional forces.

In view of the above and other considerations, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a mechanical connecting means so arrangedthat the parts thereof are prevented from slipping by interfitting meansof very rugged construction, and yet which permit an extremely fineadjustment of the relative positions of the members connected thereby.Another object of the present invention is to incorporate a meanswhereby the 0 parts which are thus adjustably connected may also beelectrically insulated, and yet retain the advantages of the extremelyfine adjustment and the ability to withstand severe tensional forces. 40The present invention accomplishes the foregoing and other objects by aconnecting means having two sets of interfitting-tooth connections whichare arranged in series or tandem to interconnect the parts to beadjustably joined, with 5 the teeth in one set difierently spaced thanthe teeth of the other set, so that the increments of adjustment of therelative position of the joined parts are not graduated merely by thespacing of the teeth of any one set, but rather 50 in accordance withthe difference between the spacing of the teeth of the two sets, whichdifference may then be made as small as necessary to permit the requiredaccuracy of adjustment without sacrificing the mechanical strength ofthe 55 teeth. This novel connecting means constitutes,

in fact, a difierential or vernier connecting device.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the presentinvention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, 5however, both as to its organization and its meth 0d of operation,together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best beunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments, whenread in connection with the 10 accompanying drawing, inwhich:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating an application of the presentinvention to the front rod of a railway track switch.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one 15 form of the presentinvention which may be used in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a modified form of the presentinvention which may also be used in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the manner of mounting acar-carried receiving means used in railway train control systems, alsoin accordance with the present invention.

In Fig. l of the accompanying drawing, a sec- 25 tion of track rails 5carried on usual ties 6 is shown as having switch .points I and 8movable relative to the rails 5, to thus constitute a railway trackswitch. It will be obvious that in such a track switch, these switchpoints i and 8 must be rigidly interconnected to permit a suitablemanual or power-operating means, not shown herein, to move the points 1and 8 in unison toward and away from the associated rails 5, and tosecurely hold the points in position against vibration and stressimposed thereon by a passing train. It is also necessary to accuratelyadjust the spacing between the switch points 1 and 8, so that when theswitch point operating means is in one position, the point i ispositioned against one rail, and when the operating means is moved totheother position, the point 8 is moved into position against the otherrail.

Consequently, the end portions of the movable points are provided withsuitable interconnecting operating rods 9 and I0 respectively attachedto the switch points i and 8 by brackets H, the ends of the operatingrods 9 and I0 extending outwardly beneath the rails 5, whereby to attachthe switch operating means. The inner ends of these rods 9 and H! areshown in Fig. 1 as overlapping and adjustably connected in accordancewith the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fi 2.

The inner ends of the rods 9 and III are preierably enlarged as shown inFig. 1 and these ends may be slightly oiiset in opposite directions tooverlap as shown in Fig. 2. The lower surface of the enlarged end of rod9 is provided with transverse teeth i2, and the upper surface of theenlarged end of the rod II is also provided with transverse teeth II,but as may be seen in Fig. 2, the teeth l2 are slightly more widelyspaced than teeth It. An insulating connecting block it of fibre, hardrubber, bakelite or other suitable insulating material, is providedbetween the overlapping enlarged ends of rods 9 and II, which block itis provided with transverse teeth on its upper surface spaced tointerfit with the teeth l2 of rod 9, and is also provided withtransverse teeth on its lower surface spaced to interfit with teeth ll01' rod ll.

Two bolts II pass through holes in the block it and through elongatedslots in the enlarged ends 01 both rods 9 and II, and by tightening nutsit threaded on the bolts ii, the rods 9 and II may be securely clampedto opposite sides of the block it, whereby a sturdy connection is madebetween the rods 9 and Ill through the interfitting arrangement of theteeth i2 and II with the block ll. In order to prevent the bolts I! fromelectrically connecting the rods 9 and i9, insulating sleeves I! areprovided on the body portions of the bolts l5, and insulating strips llseparate the nuts It and the heads oi bolts II from the respec tive rods9 and II. In order to prevent damaging the insulating strips it byturning the nuts II or heads of bolts II, metal spacing strips ll may beemployed as shown in Fig. 2.

The spacing oi the switch points I and I may now be adjusted by removingor releasing nuts It, and moving either rod 9 or iii in the properdirection one or more tooth-spaces on the block it as permitted by theelongated slots in the rods 9 and iii. But however, it a change inspacing is required which is shorter than the spacing of the closerteeth II, the rods 9 and il may be moved in opposite direction on theblock it, whereby the resulting change in the spacing of the switchpoints 1 and I will be the difi'erence between the linear spacing ofteeth i2 and it, multiplied by the number of teeth each rod is thusmoved. Or, considering merely for illustration that the teeth i2 arelinearly spaced $5 inch and the teeth It are spaced inch, a change ofinch in the spacing of the switch points I and 8 could be produced bymoving eachof the rods 9 and it one tooth-space in opposite directionson the block it, likewise a change of V inch should be produced bymoving the rods 9 and ill two tooth-spaces in this manner, and ofcourse, a change of inch and inch could be obtained by respectivelymoving rods 9 and it alone one tooth-space.

In the form shown in Fig. 2, the block it could be made of a suitablemetal instead of insulating material in applications wherein it is notnecessary to electrically insulate the switch points, and in this casethe sleeves i1 and strips l8 could obviously be eliminated.

In the modified arrangement of the adjustable switch-point connectingmeans shown in Fig. 3, the enlarged ends of the rods 9 and lil do notoverlap, but rather the inner ends are slightly spaced and connected bya link 23. The teeth i2 and it are now formed on the lower side of therespective rods 9 and i0, and these teeth match and interfit with teeth24 and 25 on the upper surface 01' the associated ends 01' the link 28.

Four bolts 29 extend through holes in the link 23 and through elongatedslots in the enlarged ends of the rods I and i0, whereby the rods 9 andI. are securely clamped on the respective ends of the link 22 by nuts 21threaded on the bolts 20.

In Fig. 3, the linear spacing between the teeth I! and 2 is alsoslightly longer than the spacing between the teeth it and 2!, andconsequently when the nuts 21 are released, the minimum change in thespacing between the switch points 1 and I, which may be obtained bymoving the rods 9 and iii in opposite directions on the link 29, is thediil'erence between the linear spacing oi the teeth l2 and It, andobviously the same increments oi adJustment in the spacing of the switchpoints I and I are possible with the form shown in Fig. 3 as previouslydescribed in connection with the iorm shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawing, a method oi adiustably mounting atrain control receiver upon a railway vehicle is shown. and in order tosimplify the drawing, the train control receiver has not been shown indetail, but may be of the type disclosed in Patent No. 1,710,855 grantedto C. S. Bushnell on April 23, 1929. The member I. in Fig. 4 representsone of two upwardly extending arms of the receiver housing, whereby thereceiver is mounted on brackets extending horizontally from the Journalbox of a railway vehicle, which brackets have been represented by memberii.

A metallic block 32 is interposed between the bracket member ti and thearm member 9|, the bracket II and one side of the block 32 havinginterfitting teeth 89, while the other side of the block 22 and the arm99 have interfitting teeth 34 which are slightly finer or spacedslightly closer than the teeth It. A bolt it passes through a hole inthe bracket II and through elongated slots in both the block 32 and arm9|. whereby the teeth 33 and 84 are clamped in interfitting relationshipby a nut 36 threaded on the bolt II.

In such train control systems, the receiver must be mounted to passwithin rather accurate- 1y spaced relation to cooperating trackwaydevices, and by mounting the receiver in this manner, the nuts I. may bereleased and the arm 39 may be moved one tooth-space in one directionupon'the block 82 while the block 32 together with the arm 3. may thenbe moved one tooth-space in the other direction on the bracket 3!,thereby raising or lowering the receiver relative to the bracket 3| onlythe difierence between the spacing of teeth 33 and 94. In other words.in the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, various combinations of movements ofthe arm and the block 32 result in a vertical movement of the receiverupon the railway vehicle in rather small increments determined by thediii'erence in the spacing between teeth It and It.

From the foregoing description of the various embodiments of the presentinvention, it will be obvious that slipping of the connected parts isprevented by interfitting teeth, or the like, which teeth necessarilygraduate the adjustment of one member relative to the other, but by theprovision 01' two sets of such interfitting teeth, which are in tandemand have a slight difference in the spacing of teeth, a much fineroverall adjustment has been made possible than is permitted by thespacing of any one set 01 teeth. The obvious advantages of thisarrangement are that the interfitting teeth oi each set may then be asdeep and widely spaced as is necessary to withstand the forces to whichthey are subjected, and yet the graduated increments of adjustment maybe as minute as desired, inasmuch as the factor determining the size ofsuch increments is the diflerence between the spacing of the two sets ofinterfitting teeth.

The above rather specific description 01' the selected forms of thepresent invention has been given solely by the way of example, and isnot intended, in any manner whatsoever, in a limiting sense. It is alsoto be understood that various modifications, adaptations and alterationsmay be applied to meet the requirements of practice, without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the present invention, except as limited bythe appended claims.

Having described my invention, I now claim:

1. In an adjustable connection for railway switch rails, inwardlyextending overlapping rods connected to the rails, a connecting blockbetween the overlapping portions of the rods, a first series oftransverse interfitting teeth connecting one rod to one side of theconnecting block, a second series of transverse interfitting teethconnecting the other rod to the other side of the connecting block, thefirst series of teeth being difierently spaced than the second series ofteeth, and means for clamping the rods in various positions on oppositesides of the connecting block.

2.- In an adjustment for railway switch rails, inwardly extending rodsconnected to the rails, a connecting member having a series oftransverse teeth interfltting with teeth on one rod and a diiierentlyspaced series of transverse teeth interfitting with teeth on the otherrod, and means for clamping the rods in various positions on theconnecting member.

3. In an adjustable connection for railway switch points, inwardlyextending rods connected to each switch point, a connecting memberadjustably clamped to an inner end of each rod, and spaced transverseteeth on each rod interfitting with teeth on the connecting member, theteeth on one rod being difierently spaced than the teeth on the otherrod, whereby to permit an adjustment in the spacing of the switch pointsin accordance with said difference in spacing of teeth.

4. In an adjustment for railway switch rails, inwardly extending rodsconnected to the rails, an electrical insulating member having a seriesof transverse teeth interfitting with teeth on one rod and also having adiiferently spaced series of transverse teeth interfitting with teeth onthe other rod, and electrical insulating means operable to clamp therods in various positions on the electrical insulating member.

5. In an adjustable connection for railway switch rails, inwardlyextending overlapping rods connected to the rails, a connecting block ofinsulating material positioned between the overlapping portions of therods, a first series of transverse interfitting teeth connecting one rodto one side of the connecting block, a second series of transverseinterfitting teeth connecting the other rod to the other side of theconnecting block, the first series of teeth being differently spacedthan the second series of teeth, and means for clamping the rods invarious positions on opposite sides of the connecting block. I

OSCAR H. DICKE.

